Today is the feast day of Saint Evaristus. Ora pro nobis.
According to our beloved Abbot, Gueranger, the following:
The beloved disciple (John) had just received the long-promised visit of our Lord inviting him to heaven, when the Church, under Evaristus, completed the drawing up of the itinerary for her long pilgrimage to the end of time. The blessed period of the Apostolic times was definitively closed; but the eternal city continued to augment her treasure of glory. Under this pontificate the virgin Domitilla, by her martyrdom, cemented the foundations of the new Jerusalem with the blood of the Flavii (a family name), who had destroyed the old. Then Ignatius of Antioch brought to the 'Church that presides in charity', the testimony of his death; he was the wheat of Christ, and the teeth of the wild beasts in the coliseum satisfied his desire of becoming a most pure bread.
St. Evaristus's date of birth April 7, 44A.D. The “Liber Pontificalis” says that Evaristus came of a Hellenic family, and was the son of a Bethlehem Jew. Eusebius, in his Church History IV, I, stated that Evaristus died in the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Trajan after holding the office of bishop of the Romans for eight years. St. Evaristus is fourth successor of St. Peter. In papal catalogues of the second century used by St. Irenaeus and Hippolytus, he appears as the fourth successor of St. Peter, immediately after St. Clement.
While little is known about this fifth pope, we do know that St. Evaristus governed the Church for nine years and three months, during which time he laid the groundwork for future Church policy. St. Evaristus was profoundly committed to the expansion of vocations in the Church. The institution of cardinal priests is ascribed to him, as he is the pope who first divided Rome into several titles or parishes, assigning a priest to each. He also appointed seven deacons to attend the bishop and conferred holy orders three times in the month of December which was quite unusual, given that these ceremonies were generally reserved for seasons of fasting and prayer. AND, he decreed that, according to the Tradition of the Apostles, (the holy Sacrament) of Matrimony should be celebrated publicly and blessed by a priest.
During the leadership of Pope St. Evaristus, the clergy were solidified and the congregations of believers grew at an astounding rate—largely due to his love and zeal for the truth of Christ. However, as were most popes at that time of Church formation, Evaristus was eventually arrested during the reign of Emperor Domitian, and sentenced to death for being a Christian.
It was at the same time as St. Ignatius, the illustrious bishop of Antioch, that Pope St. Evaristus gave his life by martyrdom. As he was taken to prison, his jailers were amazed to see the joy on his face, as he thought himself privileged to have been found worthy to suffer and die for Jesus. He was martyred by decapitationin the year 107A.D., and his remains were buried in the Vatican near the tomb of St. Peter, (the Prince of the Apostles).
Pope St. Evaristus is often represented with a sword because he was decapitated, or with a crib, because it is believed that he was born in Bethlehem, from which his father migrated, (since he was Jewish).
(I, however, could not find any images of this Saint with a sword. However, his image is on the façade at St. Peter's in Rome)
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